The BLM Needles Field Office has issued a Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS for the Castle Mountain Mine Phase II Expansion, proposed by Castle Mountain Venture (CMV) in San Bernardino County, California and Clark County, Nevada. The project would amend CMV's mine plan of operations to expand pits, overburden sites, and a heap leach pad, disturbing an additional 1,800 acres of BLM-managed public land for a total disturbance of 3,294 acres. Operations would quadruple the current annual mining rate and extend mine life by roughly 30 years. Three alternatives are under consideration, including a National Park Service Lands Alternative and No Action. The scoping comment period closes November 19, 2025, with a Draft EIS expected spring 2026 and a Record of Decision fall 2026.12